The U.S. Constitution in 1789 called for the creation of a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. As such, Washington, D.C., is not part of any state, and is not one itself. The Residence Act, adopted on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of the capital district along the Potomac River. The city was founded in 1791, and the 6th Congress held the first session in the unfinished Capitol Building in 1800 after the capital moved from Philadelphia. In 1801, the District of Columbia, formerly part of Maryland and Virginia and including the existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria, was officially recognized as the federal district; initially, the city was a separate settlement within the larger district. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia, including the city of Alexandria. In 1871, it created a single municipality for the remaining portion of the district. There have been several unsuccessful efforts to make the district into a state since the 1880s; a statehood bill passed the House of Representatives in 2021 but was not adopted by the U.S. Senate. To become law it would have to be passed by the Senate and signed by president; it would have renamed the city Washington, Douglas Commonwealth and shrunk the Federal District to about the size of the national mall.
The Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people, also known as the Conoy, inhabited the lands around the Potomac River and present-day Washington, D.C., when Europeans first arrived and colonized the region in the early 17th century. The Nacotchtank, also called the Nacostines by Catholic missionaries, maintained settlements around the Anacostia River in present-day Washington, D.C. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes ultimately displaced the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland.[17]
On October 6, 1783, after the capital was forced by the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 to move to Princeton, Congress resolved to consider a new location for it.[19] The following day, Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts moved "that buildings for the use of Congress be erected on the banks of the Delaware near Trenton, or of the Potomac, near Georgetown, provided a suitable district can be procured on one of the rivers as aforesaid, for a federal town".[20]
In Federalist No. 43, published January 23, 1788, James Madison argued that the new federal government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance and safety.[21] The Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783 emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security.[22]
Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution permits the establishment of a "District (not exceeding tenmilessquare) as may, by cession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States".[23] However, the constitution does not specify a location for the capital. In the Compromise of 1790, Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson agreed that the federal government would pay each state's remaining Revolutionary War debts in exchange for establishing the new national capital in the Southern United States.[24][a]
On July 9, 1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. Under the Residence Act, the exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, who signed the bill into law on July 16, 1790. Formed from land donated by Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles (16km) on each side and totaling 100 square miles (259km2).[25][b]
Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, founded in 1751,[26] and the port city of Alexandria, Virginia, founded in 1749.[27] In 1791 and 1792, a team led by Andrew Ellicott, including Ellicott's brothers Joseph and Benjamin and African American astronomerBenjamin Banneker, whose parents had been enslaved, surveyed the borders of the federal district and placed boundary stones at every mile point; many of these stones are still standing.[28][29] Both Maryland and Virginia were slave states, and slavery existed in the District from its founding. The building of Washington likely relied in significant part on slave labor, and slave receipts have been found for the White House, Capitol Building, and establishment of Georgetown University. The city became an important slave market and a center of the nation's internal slave trade.[30][31]
After its survey, the new federal city was constructed on the north bank of the Potomac River, to the east of Georgetown centered on Capitol Hill. On September 9, 1791, three commissioners overseeing the capital's construction named the city in honor of President Washington. The same day, the federal district was named Columbia, a feminine form of Columbus, which was a poetic name for the United States commonly used at that time.[32][33] Congress held its first session there on November 17, 1800.[34]
Congress passed the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, which officially organized the district and placed the entire territory under the exclusive control of the federal government. The area within the district was organized into two counties, the County of Washington to the east and north of the Potomac and the County of Alexandria to the west and south.[35] After the Act's passage, citizens in the district were no longer considered residents of Maryland or Virginia, which ended their representation in Congress.[36]
On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces invaded and occupied the city after defeating an American force at Bladensburg. In retaliation for acts of destruction by American troops in the Canadas, the British set fire to government buildings in the city, gutting the United States Capitol, the Treasury Building, and the White House in what became known as the burning of Washington. However, a storm forced the British to evacuate the city after just 24 hours.[37] Most government buildings were repaired quickly, but the Capitol, which was largely under construction at the time, would not be completed in its current form until 1868.[38]
In the 1830s, the district's southern territory of Alexandria declined economically, due in part to its neglect by Congress.[39] Alexandria was a major market in the domestic slave trade and pro-slavery residents feared that abolitionists in Congress would end slavery in the district. Alexandria's citizens petitioned Virginia to retake the land it had donated to form the district, a process known as retrocession.[40]
The Virginia General Assembly voted in February 1846, to accept the return of Alexandria. On July 9, 1846, Congress went further, agreeing to return all territory that Virginia had ceded to the district during its formation. This left the district's area consisting only of the portion originally donated by Maryland.[39] Confirming the fears of pro-slavery Alexandrians, the Compromise of 1850 outlawed the slave trade in the district, although not slavery itself.[41]
The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 led to the expansion of the federal government and notable growth in the city's population, including a large influx of freed slaves.[42] President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862, which ended slavery in the district, freeing about 3,100 slaves in the district nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation.[43] In 1868, Congress granted the district's African American male residents the right to vote in municipal elections.[42]
By 1870, the district's population had grown 75% in a decade to nearly 132,000 people,[44] yet the city still lacked paved roads and basic sanitation. Some members of Congress suggested moving the capital farther west, but President Ulysses S. Grant refused to consider the proposal.[45]
In the Organic Act of 1871, Congress repealed the individual charters of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, abolished Washington County, and created a new territorial government for the whole District of Columbia.[46] These steps made "the city of Washington...legally indistinguishable from the District of Columbia."[47]
In 1873, President Grant appointed Alexander Robey Shepherd as Governor of the District of Columbia. Shepherd authorized large projects that modernized the city but bankrupted its government. In 1874, Congress replaced the territorial government with an appointed three-member board of commissioners.[48]
In 1888, the city's first motorized streetcars began service. Their introduction generated growth in areas of the district beyond the City of Washington's original boundaries, leading to an expansion of the district over the next few decades.[49] Georgetown's street grid and other administrative details were formally merged with those of the City of Washington in 1895.[50] However, the city had poor housing and strained public works, leading it to become the first city in the nation to undergo urban renewal projects as part of the City Beautiful movement in the early 20th century.[51]
Increased federal spending under the New Deal in the 1930s led to the construction of new government buildings, memorials, and museums in the district,[52] though the chairman of the House Subcommittee on District Appropriations, Ross A. Collins of Mississippi, justified cuts to funds for welfare and education for local residents by saying that "my constituents wouldn't stand for spending money on niggers."[53]
World War II led to an expansion of federal employees in the city;[54] by 1950, the district's population reached its peak of 802,178 residents.[44]
Since the 1980s, the D.C. statehood movement has grown in prominence. In 2016, a referendum on D.C. statehood resulted in an 85% support among Washington, D.C., voters for it to become the nation's 51st state. In March 2017, the city's congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill for statehood. Reintroduced in 2019 and 2021 as the Washington, D.C., Admission Act, the U.S. House of Representatives passed it in April 2021.[citation needed] After not progressing in the Senate, the statehood bill was introduced again in January 2023.[59] The bill would have made D.C. into a state with one representative and two senators, with the name Washington, Douglas Commonwealth (thus keeping the same abbreviation Washington, D.C.).[60] The legalities, reasons, and impact of statehood have been heavily debated in the 2020s.[61]
The Washington Monument viewed from the Tidal Basin during the National Cherry Blossom Festival in April 2018D.C. is on the north side of the Potomac River, and is surrounded on three side by Maryland. Virginia lies across the river to the south-west
The district has 7,464 acres (30.21km2) of parkland, about 19% of the city's total area, the second-highest among high-density U.S. cities after Philadelphia.[72] The city's sizable parkland was a factor in the city being ranked as third in the nation for park access and quality in the 2018 ParkScore ranking of the park systems of the nation's 100 most populous cities, according to Trust for Public Land, a non-profit organization.[73]
Washington's climate is humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa), or oceanic (Trewartha: Do bordering Cf downtown).[79][80] Winters are cool to cold with some snow of varying intensity, while summers are hot and humid. The district is in plant hardiness zone 8a near downtown, and zone 7b elsewhere in the city.[81][82]
Summers are hot and humid with a July daily average of 79.8°F (26.6°C) and average daily relative humidity around 66%, which can cause moderate personal discomfort. Heat indices regularly approach 100°F (38°C) at the height of summer.[83] The combination of heat and humidity in the summer brings very frequent thunderstorms, some of which occasionally produce tornadoes in the area.[84]
Blizzards affect Washington once every four to six years on average. The most violent storms, known as nor'easters, often impact large regions of the East Coast.[85] From January 27 to 28, 1922, the city officially received 28 inches (71cm) of snowfall, the largest snowstorm since official measurements began in 1885.[86] According to notes kept at the time, the city received between 30 and 36 inches (76 and 91cm) from a snowstorm in January 1772.[87]
Hurricanes or their remnants occasionally impact the area in late summer and early fall. However, they usually are weak by the time they reach Washington, partly due to the city's inland location.[88] Flooding of the Potomac River, however, caused by a combination of high tide, storm surge, and runoff, has been known to cause extensive property damage in the Georgetown neighborhood of the city.[89] Precipitation occurs throughout the year.[90]
The highest recorded temperature was 106°F (41°C) on August 6, 1918, and on July 20, 1930.[91] The lowest recorded temperature was −15°F (−26°C) on February 11, 1899, right before the Great Blizzard of 1899.[85] During a typical year, the city averages about 37 days at or above 90°F (32°C) and 64 nights at or below the freezing mark (32°F or 0°C).[92] On average, the first day with a minimum at or below freezing is November 18 and the last day is March 27.[93][94]
The L'Enfant Plan for the city, developed in 1791The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was extended to Georgetown in 1830.
Washington, D.C., was a planned city, and many of the city's street grids were developed in that initial plan. In 1791, President George Washington commissioned Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French-born military engineer and artist, to design the new capital. He enlisted the help of Isaac Roberdeau, Étienne Sulpice Hallet and Scottish surveyor Alexander Ralston to help lay out the city plan.[99] The L'Enfant Plan featured broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles, providing room for open space and landscaping.[100]
L'Enfant was also provided a roll of maps by Thomas Jefferson depicting Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Paris, Orleans, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Turin, and Milan.[101] L'Enfant's design also envisioned a garden-lined grand avenue about 1 mile (1.6km) long and 400 feet (120m) wide in an area that is now the National Mall inspired by the grounds at Versailles and Tuileries Gardens.[102] In March 1792, President Washington dismissed L'Enfant due to conflicts with the three commissioners appointed to supervise the capital's construction. Andrew Ellicott, who worked with L'Enfant in surveying the city, was then tasked with completing its design. Though Ellicott revised the original L'Enfant plans, including changing some street patterns, L'Enfant is still credited with the city's overall design.[103]
By the early 20th century, however, L'Enfant's vision of a grand national capital was marred by slums and randomly placed buildings in the city, including a railroad station on the National Mall. Congress formed a special committee charged with beautifying Washington's ceremonial core.[51] What became known as the McMillan Plan was finalized in 1901 and included relandscaping the Capitol grounds and the National Mall, clearing slums, and establishing a new citywide park system. The plan is thought to have largely preserved L'Enfant's intended design for the city.[100]
By law, the city's skyline is low and sprawling. The federal Height of Buildings Act of 1910 prohibits buildings with height exceeding the width of the adjacent street plus 20 feet (6.1m).[104] Despite popular belief, no law has ever limited buildings to the height of the United States Capitol or the 555-foot (169m)Washington Monument,[71] which remains the district's tallest structure. City leaders have cited the height restriction as a primary reason that the district has limited affordable housing and its metro area has suburban sprawl and traffic problems.[104] Washington, D.C., still has a relatively high homelessness rate, despite its high living standard compared to many American cities.[105]
Washington, D.C., is divided into four quadrants of unequal area: Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW). The axes bounding the quadrants radiate from the U.S. Capitol.[106] All road names include the quadrant abbreviation to indicate their location. House numbers generally correspond with the number of blocks away from the Capitol. Most streets are set out in a grid pattern with east–west streets named with letters (e.g., C Street SW), north–south streets with numbers (e.g., 4th Street NW), and diagonal avenues, many of which are named after states.[106]
Notable contemporary residential buildings, restaurants, shops, and office buildings in the city include the Wharf on the Southwest Waterfront, Navy Yard along the Anacostia River, and CityCenterDC in Downtown. The Wharf has seen the construction of several high-rise office and residential buildings overlooking the Potomac River. Additionally, restaurants, bars, and shops have been opened at street level. Many of these buildings have a modern glass exterior and heavy curvature.[119][120] CityCenterDC is home to Palmer Alley, a pedestrian-only walkway, and houses several apartment buildings, restaurants, and luxury-brand storefronts with streamlined glass and metal facades.[121]
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the district's population was 705,749 as of July 2019, up more than 100,000 people since the 2010 United States Census. When measured decade-over-decade, this shows growth since 2000, following a half-century of population decline.[132] Washington was the 24th-most populous place in the United States as of 2010[update].[133] According to data from 2010, commuters from the suburbs boost the district's daytime population past one million.[134] If the district were a state, it would rank 49th in population, ahead of Vermont and Wyoming.[135]
Map of racial distribution in the Washington metropolitan area, according to the 2010 U.S. census; each dot represents 25 people: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic or Other (yellow)
According to 2020 Census Bureau data, the population of Washington, D.C., was 41.4% Black or African American, 39.6% White (37.9% non-Hispanic White), 4.9% Asian, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 5.4% Some Other Race. Individuals from two or more races made up 8.1% of the population. Hispanics of any race made up 11.3% of the district's population.[126]
The city's African American population has declined since the 1968 riots.
Washington, D.C. has had a relatively large African American population since the city's foundation.[140] African American residents composed about 30% of the district's total population between 1800 and 1940.[44] The black population reached a peak of 70% by 1970 and has since declined as African Americans moved to the surrounding suburbs. Partly as a result of gentrification, there was a 31.4% increase in the non-Hispanic white population and an 11.5% decrease in the black population between 2000 and 2010.[141] According to a study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, D.C. has experienced more "intense" gentrification than any other American city, with 40% of neighborhoods gentrified.[142]
About 17% of Washington, D.C. residents were age 18 or younger as of 2010, lower than the U.S. average of 24%. However, at 34 years old, the district had the lowest median age compared to the 50 states as of 2010.[143]As of 2010[update], there were an estimated 81,734 immigrants living in Washington, D.C.[144] Major sources of immigration include El Salvador, Ethiopia, Mexico, Guatemala, and China, with a concentration of Salvadorans in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.[145]
As of 2010, there were 4,822 same-sex couples in the city, about 2% of total households, according to Williams Institute.[146] Legislation authorizing same-sex marriage passed in 2009, and the district began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in March 2010.[147]
As of 2007, about one-third of Washington, D.C., residents were functionally illiterate, more than the national rate of about one in five. The city's relatively high illiteracy rate is attributed in part to immigrants who are not proficient in English.[148]As of 2011[update], 85% of D.C. residents age5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language.[149] Half of residents had at least a four-year college degree in 2006.[144] In 2017, the median household income in D.C. was $77,649;[150] also in 2017, D.C. residents had a personal income per capita of $50,832 (higher than any of the 50 states).[150][151] However, 19% of residents were below the poverty level in 2005, higher than any state except Mississippi. In 2019, the poverty rate stood at 14.7%.[152][h][154]
As of 2010[update], more than 90% of Washington, D.C., residents had health insurance coverage, the second-highest rate in the nation. This is due in part to city programs that help provide insurance to low-income individuals who do not qualify for other types of coverage.[155][bettersourceneeded] A 2009 report found that at least three percent of Washington, D.C., residents have HIV or AIDS, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) characterizes as a "generalized and severe" epidemic.[156]
As of 2023,[update] the Washington metropolitan area, including the District of Columbia as well as parts of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia, was one of the nation's largest metropolitan economies. Its growing and diversified economy has an increasing percentage of professional and business service jobs in addition to more traditional jobs rooted in tourism, entertainment, and government.[160][obsoletesource]
Between 2009 and 2016, gross domestic product per capita in Washington, D.C., consistently ranked at the very top among U.S. states.[161] In 2016, at $160,472, its GDP per capita was almost three times greater than that of Massachusetts, which was ranked second in the nation (see List of U.S. states and territories by GDP).[161]As of 2022[update], the metropolitan statistical area's unemployment rate was 3.1%, ranking 171 out of the 389 metropolitan areas as defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.[162] The District of Columbia itself had an unemployment rate of 4.6% during the same time period.[163] In 2019, Washington, D.C., had the highest median household income in the U.S. at $92,266.[164]
As the national capital, Washington, D.C. hosts about 185 foreign missions, including embassies, ambassador's residences, and international cultural centers.[167] Many are concentrated along a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue known informally as Embassy Row.[168] D.C. is consequently one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world; it hosts a number of internationally themed festivals and events, often in collaboration with foreign missions or delegations.[citation needed] The city government maintains an Office of International Affairs to liaise with the diplomatic community and foreign delegations.[169]
The city is the country's primary location for international development firms, many of which contract with the D.C.-based United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. federal government's aid agency. The American Red Cross, a humanitarian agency focused on emergency relief, is also headquartered in the city.[175]
Tourism is the city's second-largest industry, after the federal government. In 2012, some 18.9million visitors contributed an estimated $4.8billion to the local economy.[179] In 2019, the city saw 24.6 million tourists, including 1.8 million from foreign countries, who collectively spent $8.15 billion during their stay.[180] Tourism helps many of the region's other industries, such as lodging, food and beverage, entertainment, shopping, and transportation.[180]
The city and the wider Washington region have a diverse array of attractions for tourists, such as monuments, memorials, museums, sports events, and trails. Within the city, the National Mall serves as the center of the tourism industry. It is there that many of the city's museums and monuments are located. Adjacent to the mall sits the Tidal Basin, where several additional memorials and monuments lie, including the popular Jefferson Memorial. Washington Union Station is a popular tourist spot with its multitude of restaurants and shops.[citation needed]
The U Street Corridor in Northwest D.C., once known as "Washington's Black Broadway", is home to institutions like Howard Theatre and Lincoln Theatre, which hosted music legends such as Washington-native Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis.[192] Just east of U Street is Shaw, which also served as a major cultural center during the jazz age. Intersecting with U Street is Fourteenth Street, which was an extension of the U Street cultural corridor during the 1920s through the 1960s. The collection of Fourteenth Street, U Street, and Shaw was the location of the Black Renaissance in D.C., which was part of the larger Harlem Renaissance. Today, the area starting at Fourteenth Street downtown going north through U Street and east to Shaw boasts a high concentration of bars, restaurants, and theaters, and is among the city's most notable cultural and artistic areas.[citation needed]
Columbia Records, a major music record label in the US, was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1889.[194]:105
The city grew into being one of America's most important music cities in the early jazz age. Duke Ellington, among the most prominent jazz composers and musicians of his time, was born and raised in Washington, and began his music career in the city. The center of the city's jazz scene during those years was U street and Shaw. Among the city's major jazz locations were the Lincoln Theatre and the Howard Theatre.[195]
Washington has its own native music genre called go-go; a post-funk, percussion-driven flavor of rhythm and blues that was popularized in the late 1970s by D.C. band leader Chuck Brown.[196]
The district is an important center for indie culture and music in the United States. The DC-based label Dischord Records, formed by Ian MacKaye, frontman of Fugazi, was one of the most crucial independent labels in the genesis of 1980s punk and eventually indie rock in the 1990s.[197] Modern alternative and indie music venues like The Black Cat and the 9:30 Club bring popular acts to the U Street area.[198] The hardcore punk scene in the city, known as D.C. hardcore, is an important genre of D.C.'s contemporary music scene. Starting in the 1970s and flourishing in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, it is considered to be one of the most influential punk music movements in the country.[199]
Yetsom beyaynetu at Das Ethiopian Cuisine, one of D.C.'s many Ethiopian restaurants
Washington, D.C., is rich in fine and casual dining; some consider it among the country's best cities for dining.[200] The city has a diverse range of restaurants, including a wide variety of international cuisines. The city's Chinatown, for example, has more than a dozen Chinese-style restaurants. The city also has many Middle Eastern, European, African, Asian, and Latin American cuisine options.[citation needed] D.C. is known as one of the best cities in the world for Ethiopian cuisine, due largely to Ethiopian immigrants who arrived in the 20th century.[201] A part of the Shaw neighborhood in central D.C. is known as "Little Ethiopia" and has a high concentration of Ethiopian restaurants and shops.[202] The diversity of cuisine is also reflected in the city's many food trucks, which are particularly heavily concentrated along the National Mall, which has few other dining options.[citation needed]
Among the city's signature restaurants is Ben's Chili Bowl, located on U Street since its founding in 1958. The restaurant rose to prominence as a peaceful escape during the violent 1968 race riots in the city. Famous for its chili dogs and half-smokes, it has been visited by numerous presidents and celebrities over the years.[210] The Georgetown Cupcake bakery became famous through its appearance on the reality T.V. show DC Cupcakes. Another culinary hotspot is Union Market in Northeast D.C., a former farmer's market and wholesale that now houses a large, gourmet food hall.[211]
The National Gallery of Art is on the National Mall near the Capitol and features American and European artworks. The U.S. government owns the gallery and its collections. However, they are not a part of the Smithsonian Institution.[225] The National Building Museum, which occupies the former Pension Building near Judiciary Square, was chartered by Congress and hosts exhibits on architecture, urban planning, and design.[226] The Botanic Garden is a botanical garden and museum operated by the U.S. Congress that is open to the public.[227]
The Southwest Waterfront along the Potomac River has been redeveloped in recent years and now serves as a popular cultural center. The Wharf, as it is called, contains the city's historic Maine Avenue Fish Market. This is the oldest fish market currently in operation in the entire United States.[248] The Wharf also has many hotels, residential buildings, restaurants, shops, parks, piers, docks and marinas, and live music venues.[119][120]
There are many parks, gardens, squares, and circles throughout Washington. The city has 683 parks and greenspaces, comprising almost a quarter of its land area.[249] Consequently, 99% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.[250] According to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, Washington ranked first among the 100 largest U.S. cities for its public parks, based on indicators such as accessibility, the share of land reserved for parks, and the amount invested in green spaces.[250]
The city's teams have won a combined 14 professional league championships over their respective histories. The Washington Commanders (named the Washington Redskins until 2020), have won two NFL Championships and three Super Bowls;[261] D.C. United has won four;[262] and the Washington Wizards, then named the Washington Bullets, Washington Capitals, Washington Mystics, Washington Nationals, and Washington Spirit have each won a single championship.[263][264]
Each of the city's eight wards elects a single member of the council and residents elect four at-large members to represent the district as a whole. The council chair is also elected at-large.[269] There are 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) elected by small neighborhood districts. ANCs can issue recommendations on all issues that affect residents; government agencies take their advice under careful consideration.[270] The attorney general of the District of Columbia is elected to a four-year term.[271]
The idiom "Inside the Beltway" is a reference used by media to describe discussions of national political issues inside of Washington, by way of geographical demarcation regarding the region within the Capital's Beltway, Interstate 495, the city's highway loop (beltway) constructed in 1964. The phrase is used as a title for a number of political columns and news items by publications like The Washington Times.[274]
The mayor and council set local taxes and a budget, which Congress must approve. The Government Accountability Office and other analysts have estimated that the city's high percentage of tax-exempt property and the Congressional prohibition of commuter taxes create a structural deficit in the district's local budget of anywhere between $470million and over $1billion per year. Congress typically provides additional grants for federal programs such as Medicaid and the operation of the local justice system; however, analysts claim that the payments do not fully resolve the imbalance.[275][276]
The city's local government, particularly during the mayoralty of Marion Barry, has been criticized for mismanagement and waste.[277] During his administration in 1989, Washington Monthly magazine labeled the district "the worst city government in America".[278] In 1995, at the start of Barry's fourth term, Congress created the District of Columbia Financial Control Board to oversee all municipal spending.[279] Mayor Anthony Williams won election in 1998 and oversaw a period of urban renewal and budget surpluses.[citation needed]
The district regained control over its finances in 2001 and the oversight board's operations were suspended.[280]
The district has a federally funded "Emergency Planning and Security Fund" to cover security related to visits by foreign leaders and diplomats, presidential inaugurations, protests, and terrorism concerns. During the Trump administration, the fund has run with a deficit. Trump's January 2017 inauguration cost the city $27million; of that, $7million was never repaid to the fund. Trump's 2019 Independence Day event, "A Salute to America", cost six times more than Independence Day events in past years.[281]
Homelessness
The city passed a law that requires shelter to be provided to everyone in need when the temperature drops below freezing.[282] Since D.C. does not have enough shelter units available, every winter it books hotel rooms in the suburbs with an average cost of around $100 for a night. According to the D.C. Department of Human Services, during the winter of 2012 the city spent $2,544,454 on putting homeless families in hotels,[283] and budgeted $3.2 million on hotel beds in 2013.[284]
The city's license plate calls for an end to taxation without representation.Washington Monument and the White House. Since 1961 the city's residents can vote for the President and Vice President, who is also the President of the SenateStature of Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial
Congress controlled the Federal District from its establishment, and did not make a provision for federal representation of the people living there. That changed in 1961, when the 23rd amendment was ratified by the states, and Washington, D.C. was granted three electoral college votes in each presidential election. In 1978 another amendment was passed but not ratified by the states to grant D.C. congressional representation. In 2021, a bill to make D.C. a state passed the House of Representatives but not Senate. Congress has the power to add a state, but an amendment must be ratified by the states.
Washington, D.C. is not a state and therefore has no federal voting representation in Congress. The city's residents elect a non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives (D.C. at-large), who may sit on committees, participate in debate, and introduce legislation, but cannot vote on the House floor. The district has no official representation in the United States Senate. Neither chamber seats the district's elected "shadow" representative or senators. Unlike residents of U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico or Guam, which also have non-voting delegates, D.C. residents are subject to all federal taxes.[285] In the financial year 2012, D.C. residents and businesses paid $20.7billion in federal taxes, more than the taxes collected from 19 states and the highest federal taxes per capita.[286]
A 2005 poll found that 78% of Americans did not know residents of Washington, D.C., have less representation in Congress than residents of the 50 states.[287] Efforts to raise awareness about the issue have included campaigns by grassroots organizations and featuring the city's unofficial motto, "End Taxation Without Representation", on D.C. vehicle license plates.[288] There is evidence of nationwide approval for D.C. voting rights; various polls indicate that 61 to 82% of Americans believe D.C. should have voting representation in Congress.[287][289]
Opponents to federal voting rights for Washington, D.C., propose that the Founding Fathers never intended for district residents to have a vote in Congress since the Constitution makes clear that representation must come from the states. Those opposed to making the District of Columbia a state say such a move would destroy the notion of a separate national capital and that statehood would unfairly grant Senate representation to a single city.[290]
The District was granted presidential voting rights by the 23rd Amendment in 1961.[291] The 23rd Amendment was ratified which granted the people of the Washington, D.C., the right to vote for the president. This was done by giving them electoral college votes they would get if they were a state, but it must be no more than the least a state has; this works out to three electoral college votes. The amendment reads, ".. A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State".[292] The 23rd Amendment could complicate statehood, because it would apply even if the federal district was shrunk, and undoing the amendment requires another amendment.[61] Congress must operate from a district it controls, but it can be no larger than ten miles on a side; the 2021 statehood bill got around this by proposing the federal district be shrunk to an area roughly the size of the national mall.[61]
In 2021, Senator Joe Manchin made known his non-support of the D.C. Statehood bill that had passed the House of Representatives, and suggested that D.C. could instead be given statehood by constitutional amendment.[293] He was concerned about complications from the 23rd amendment and said the bill would likely end up in court, adding that the correct way was to propose a constitutional amendment and let the nation vote on it.[293]
In 2021 a bill was introduced to congress for retroceding the district to Maryland.[295] The idea is by returning the area to Maryland, the residents would have normal State represenation.[296]
District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), the sole public school district in the city,[297] operates the city's 123 public schools.[298] The number of students in DCPS steadily decreased for 39 years until 2009. In the 2010–11 school year, 46,191 students were enrolled in the public school system.[299] DCPS has one of the highest-cost, yet lowest-performing school systems in the country, in terms of both infrastructure and student achievement.[300] Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration made sweeping changes to the system by closing schools, replacing teachers, firing principals, and using private education firms to aid curriculum development.[301]
The District of Columbia Public Charter School Board monitors the 52 public charter schools in the city.[302] Due to the perceived problems with the traditional public school system, enrollment in public charter schools had by 2007 steadily increased.[303] As of 2010, D.C., charter schools had a total enrollment of about 32,000, a 9% increase from the prior year.[299] The district is also home to 92 private schools, which enrolled approximately 18,000 students in 2008.[304]
Washington, D.C., is a prominent center for national and international media. The Washington Post, founded in 1877, is the city's most-read local daily newspaper[citation needed] and one of the preeminent newspapers in the United States.[311] It had the sixth-highest readership of all news dailies in the country in 2011.[312] The Post previously also published the Spanish-language newspaper El Tiempo Latino, which it sold to El Planeta Media in 2016.[313]
The Atlantic magazine, which has covered politics, international affairs, and cultural issues since 1857, was previously headquartered at the Watergate complex but is now headquartered in a building at the Wharf in Washington.[317]
There are 1,500 miles (2,400km) of streets, parkways, and avenues in the district.[324] Due to the freeway revolts of the 1960s, much of the proposed interstate highway system through the middle of Washington was never built. Interstate95 (I-95), the nation's major east coast highway, therefore bends around the district to form the eastern portion of the Capital Beltway. A portion of the proposed highway funding was directed to the region's public transportation infrastructure instead.[325] The interstate highways that continue into Washington, including I-66 and I-395, both terminate shortly after entering the city.[326]
According to a 2010 study, Washington-area commuters spent 70hours a year in traffic delays, which tied with Chicago for having the nation's worst road congestion.[327] However, 37% of Washington-area commuters take public transportation to work, the second-highest rate in the country.[328] An additional 12% of D.C. commuters walked to work, 6% carpooled, and 3% traveled by bicycle in 2010.[329]
In May 2022, the city celebrated the expansion of its bike lane network to 104 miles (167km), a 60 percent increase from 2015. Of those miles, 24 miles (39km) were protected bike lanes. It also boasted 62 miles (100km) of bike trails.[330]As of March2023[update], the city has 108 miles (174km) of bike lanes, with 30 miles (48km) of them protected bike lanes.[331]
D.C. is part of the regional Capital Bikeshare program. Started in 2010, it is one of the largest bicycle sharing systems in the country. As of February2024[update], the program had 6,372 bicycles and 395 stations.[332] A preceding SmartBike DC pilot program had begun in 2008.[333]
Walkability
A 2021 study by Walk Score ranked Washington, D.C. the fifth-most walkable city in the country. According to the study, the most walkable neighborhoods are U Street, Dupont Circle, and Mount Vernon Square.[334] In 2013, the Washington Metropolitan Area had the eighth lowest percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (75.7 percent), with 8percent of area workers traveling via rail transit.[335]
Washington Metro, the second-busiest rapid rail system in the U.S. based on average weekday ridership, is known for its iconic vaulted ceilings
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) operates the Washington Metro, the city's rapid transit rail system. The system serves Washington, D.C. and its Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs. Metro opened on March 27, 1976, and consists of six lines (each one color coded), 98stations, and 129 miles (208km) of track.[338] Metro is the second-busiest rapid transit system in the country and fifth-busiest in North America.[339] It operates mostly as a deep-level subway in more densely populated parts of the D.C. metropolitan area (including most of the District itself), while most of the suburban tracks are at surface level or elevated. Metro is known for its iconic brutalist-style vaulted ceilings in the interior stations. It is also known for having long escalators in some of its underground stations. The longest single-tier escalator in the Western Hemisphere, spanning 230 feet (70m), is located at Metro's Wheaton station in Maryland.[340]
Maryland's MARC and Virginia's VRE commuter trains and the Metrorail Red Line also provide service into Union Station.[341] Following renovations in 2011, Union Station became Washington's primary intercity bus transit center.[342]
Although Washington, D.C. was known throughout the 19th and early- to mid-20th centuries for its streetcars, these lines were dismantled in the 1960s. In 2016, however, the city brought back a streetcar line, DC Streetcar, which is a single line system in Northeast Washington, D.C., along H Street and Benning Road, known as the H Street/Benning Road Line.[343]
Two main public bus systems operate in Washington, D.C. Metrobus, operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), is the primary public bus system in Washington, D.C. Serving more than 400,000 riders each weekday, it is one of the nation's largest bus systems by annual ridership.[344] The city also operates its own DC Circulator bus system, which connects commercial and touristic areas within central Washington.[345] The DC Circulator costs only $1 to ride and is composed of six distinct routes that cover central D.C. and suburban Rosslyn, Virginia. The DC Circulator is run via a public-private partnership between the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, WMATA, and DC Surface Transit, Inc. (DCST). The bus system services each stop approximately every 10 minutes.[346]
The city also has several bus lines used by tourists and others visiting the city, including Big Bus Tours, Old Town Trolley Tours, and DC Trails. Many tourists also arrive via charter buses.[citation needed]
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, also known as WASA or D.C. Water, is an independent authority of the Washington, D.C., government that provides drinking water and wastewater collection in the city. WASA purchases water from the historic Washington Aqueduct, which is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The water, sourced from the Potomac River, is treated and stored in the city's Dalecarlia, Georgetown, and McMillan reservoirs. The aqueduct provides drinking water for a total of 1.1million people in the district and Virginia, including Arlington, Falls Church, and a portion of Fairfax County.[357] The authority also provides sewage treatment services for an additional 1.6million people in four surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties.[358]
Pepco is the city's electric utility and services 793,000 customers in the district and suburban Maryland.[359] An 1889 law prohibits overhead wires within much of the historic City of Washington. As a result, all power lines and telecommunication cables are located underground in downtown Washington, and traffic signals are placed at the edge of the street.[360] A 2013 plan would bury an additional 60 miles (97km) of primary power lines throughout the district.[361]
Washington has historically endured high crime, particularly violent offences. The city was once described as the "murder capital" of the United States during the early 1990s.[363] The number of murders peaked in 1991 at 479, but then began to decline,[364] reaching a historic low of 88 in 2012, the lowest total since 1961.[365] In 2016, the district's Metropolitan Police Department tallied 135 homicides, a 53% increase from 2012 but a 17% decrease from 2015.[366] By 2019, citywide reports of both property and violent crimes declined from their most recent highs in the mid-1990s.[367][bettersourceneeded] However, both 2021 and 2022 saw over 200 homicides each, reflecting an upward trends from prior decades.[368] In 2023, D.C. recorded 274 homicides, a 20-year high and the fifth-highest murder rate among the nation's largest cities.[369]
Many D.C. residents began to press the city government for refusing to prosecute nearly 70% of arrested offenders in 2022. After months of criticism, the rate of unprosecuted cases dropped to 56% by October 2023—albeit still higher than nine of the past 10 years and almost twice what it was in 2013.[370] In February 2024, the Council of the District of Columbia passed a major bill meant to reduce crime in the city by introducing harsher penalties for arrested offenders.[371] Rising crime and gang activities contributed to some local businesses leaving the city.[372][373]
According to a 2018 report, 67,000 residents, or about 10% of the population, are ex-convicts.[374] An estimated 2,000–2,500 offenders return to the city from prison every year.[375]
Due to its serving a Federal District, the President of the United States has power the deploy the D.C. National Guard independent of the home rule–based city officials. The President also has the power to take over the police force in emergency situations.[379]
Sister cities
Washington, D.C., has fifteen official sister city agreements. Each of the listed cities is a national capital except for Sunderland, which includes the town of Washington, the ancestral home of George Washington's family.[380] Paris and Rome are each formally recognized as a partner city due to their special one sister city policy.[381] Listed in the order each agreement was first established, they are:
↑ By 1790, the Southern states had largely repaid their overseas debts from the Revolutionary War. The Northern states had not and wanted the federal government to take over their outstanding liabilities. Southern Congressmen agreed to the plan in return for establishing the new national capital at their preferred site on the Potomac River.[24]
↑ The Residence Act allowed the President to select a location within Maryland as far east as the Anacostia River. However, Washington shifted the federal territory's borders to the southeast and rotated them to include Alexandria at the district's southern tip. In 1791, Congress amended the Residence Act to approve the new site, including territory ceded by Virginia.[25]
↑ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
↑ Official records for Washington, D.C. were kept at 24th and M Streets NW from January 1872 to June 1945, and at Reagan National Airport since July 1945.[95]
↑ Apportionment totals are collected by combining Resident and Overseas population. (For D.C., this is 689545 residents and 1988 overseas population.)
↑ Until 1890, the Census Bureau counted the City of Washington, Georgetown, and unincorporated portions of Washington County as three separate areas. The data provided in this article from before 1890 are calculated as if the District of Columbia were a single municipality as it is today. Population data for each city prior to 1890 are available.[128]
↑ Defined as "members, children who are not members, and others who are not members but are considered participants in the congregation".[157]
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The Washington, D.C., Admission Act, often referred to simply as the D.C. Admission Act, is a bill introduced during the 116th United States Congress. The bill would grant Washington, D.C., admission into the Union as a state. The bill was originally introduced in the 116th Congress on January 3, 2019, and was reintroduced on January 4, 2021, and January 9, 2023, in the 117th and 118th Congresses. The United States House of Representatives passed it on April 22, 2021.
↑ CouncilmembersArchived March 20, 2023, at the Wayback Machine , Washington, D.C. Accessed March 20, 2023. "Thirteen Members make up the Council: a representative elected from each of the eight wards; and five members, including the Chairman, elected at-large."
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I-395:
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↑ Sloan, Chris (August 8, 2016). "Southwest Opens Ft Lauderdale International Gateway Focus City". Airways Magazine. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021. Ft. Lauderdale is destined to join Houston Hobby, Baltimore, and Los Angeles as a key focus gateway city
Core cities are metropolitan core cities of at least a million people. The other areas are urban areas of cities that have an urban area of 150,000+ or of a metropolitan area of at least 250,000+. Satellite cities are in italics.
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